Mathematical Modeling

by Mark M. Meerschaert

Book Overview

Mathematical modelling is the process of solving a real world problem using mathematical methods. This book takes a practical approach toward the solution of a variety of real problems such as docking two vehicles in space, growth rate of an infectious disease and wildlife management.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0124876501
• ISBN13: 9780124876507
• Release Date: March 1993
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

This is a really good book for reviewing mathematical concepts.

Like the title says, this book is great for reviewing mathematical concepts. Great examples of how to do lagrange multipliers and other basics of mathematical concepts and makes it interesting, this book helps you apply what you have learned in your math classes to mathematical models such as growth incentives and revenue.

Great book for beginners

This a good book for beginners who want to start Math Models. This book, starts with actual problem with numbers and so is not abstract. It helps my students understand the concepts better

If you teach, or learn modeling on your own, try this one

In this book you'll find, fully explained, subjects that are only mentioned briefly in other texts on modeling. I liked the chapter (chapter five) on Eigenvalue Methods for the analysis of dynamic models. I wished I had it four years ago when I was taking a course on modeling at the University of Washington. It really shows you how to do it. The same can be said about chapters 2 and 3 on optimization and chapters 7 and 8 on probability models (I liked specially the one on Markov Chains). I'm using it for teaching those techniques. The pseuodocode it includes is particularly helpful when you take the methods presented in the book to the computer. However, I would not recomend it to be used on its own as the only text in a course. It is a nice complement to texts like Gurney and Nisbet's Ecological Dynamics that presents many particular models in detail, while Meerschaert makes enphasis on general techniques. It's also a step up the ladder from "abc-of-modeling-techniques" texts like Vandermeer's Elementary Mathemathical Ecology. With 20/20 hindsight, if I had to learn modeling from the begining (or, if I had to teach it as I'm doing now) I would choose these titles as a step-by-step system, coupled with some Math packages like MathCad or Matlab.